TheShermanator
Sergeant
Lots of better posters have come before me on this subject, but in summary, lack of differentiation and challenge affects the late game in various manifestations:
1) Gold snowballing is a thing.
2) Influence snowballing is a thing.
3) Generally, higher tier AI clans, and the player in the late game, just feel like a bigger badder version of their lesser / earlier game counterparts. In other words, the higher tier clans have the same functions, mechanics, and resource types as lower tier counterparts, but more fiefs means more gold, more influence, etc. to buy the same resources available earlier in the game / to lesser AI counterparts.
Some of this is just normal EA stuff, but I think it's reasonable to look at existing mechanics and wonder what could be altered.
It's not my original idea, but one idea I like: Higher tier troops should be more expensive in terms of gold, so that only higher tier clans with fiefs could reliably afford them.
What if the highest tier troops and/or noble troops also cost influence - upon recruitment and for upkeep? This could be instead of raised gold costs - or in addition to raised gold costs (I'd prefer the latter).
To be sure, this hypothetical would involve a big balancing ask. But I feel like it would help many aspects of the game - especially the late game. You would really only see the best, shiniest troops with the most powerful landed clans. The player would have greater incentive for the player to get fiefs because he/she wants the shiniest of bois. It would provide meaningful places for influence to go for those players with fiefs accumulating a ton of it. And it would add variety and depth to the game; early tier clans could still do lots of stuff, but they couldn't have a front line of all imperial legionaries in their ragged little 40 man mercenary band. Rather, they would join armies of landed clans in wartime and look on those shiny troops in envy. (I've always felt that it was ridiculous for me, the player, to have a bunch of legionaries in my army after like 1 hour of a new play-through, when the player is still in ragged padded cloth armor or whatever.)
What am I missing here?
1) Gold snowballing is a thing.
2) Influence snowballing is a thing.
3) Generally, higher tier AI clans, and the player in the late game, just feel like a bigger badder version of their lesser / earlier game counterparts. In other words, the higher tier clans have the same functions, mechanics, and resource types as lower tier counterparts, but more fiefs means more gold, more influence, etc. to buy the same resources available earlier in the game / to lesser AI counterparts.
Some of this is just normal EA stuff, but I think it's reasonable to look at existing mechanics and wonder what could be altered.
It's not my original idea, but one idea I like: Higher tier troops should be more expensive in terms of gold, so that only higher tier clans with fiefs could reliably afford them.
What if the highest tier troops and/or noble troops also cost influence - upon recruitment and for upkeep? This could be instead of raised gold costs - or in addition to raised gold costs (I'd prefer the latter).
To be sure, this hypothetical would involve a big balancing ask. But I feel like it would help many aspects of the game - especially the late game. You would really only see the best, shiniest troops with the most powerful landed clans. The player would have greater incentive for the player to get fiefs because he/she wants the shiniest of bois. It would provide meaningful places for influence to go for those players with fiefs accumulating a ton of it. And it would add variety and depth to the game; early tier clans could still do lots of stuff, but they couldn't have a front line of all imperial legionaries in their ragged little 40 man mercenary band. Rather, they would join armies of landed clans in wartime and look on those shiny troops in envy. (I've always felt that it was ridiculous for me, the player, to have a bunch of legionaries in my army after like 1 hour of a new play-through, when the player is still in ragged padded cloth armor or whatever.)
What am I missing here?
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